ToO Policy

CTIO Blanco 4-m Telescope
Target-of-Opportunity Observing Program Policies

For the attention of: CTIO staff, Blanco 4-m telescope observers, CTIO Blanco 4-m telescope ToO program principal investigators.

Updated on: 6 Oct 2010

CTIO follows the NOAO Target of Opportunity observing program policy with the addenda given below for the V. M. Blanco 4-m telescope. We thank observers for their forbearance and co-operation with these policies.

Call-up Procedure

      The regular observer should hear about a ToO as soon as possible, preferably no later than the afternoon of the observing night. That allows the observer to email back and forth with the PI of the ToO program.

      To initiate the process of triggering an observation for their Target of Opportunity Program, the approved program PI or specified deputy must:

      (1) Contact the observer(s) using the telescope -- the Blanco console phone number is +56-51-205-400
      (2) Email mosaicToO_AT_ctio.noao.edu each time a request is made for observations

Data taking

      (1) The current observer will be asked to take the ToO data following the detailed recipe furnished by the calling team. The ToO PI or deputy must forward the instruction given to the observer to mosaicToO_AT_ctio.noao.edu as well.

      (2) Any images taken specifically for a ToO program should be identified with the NOAO proposal number (click here for a list of current approved ToO projects) to make it easier to identify in the NOAO data archive. Use obspars or equivalent to put the information in the headers and be sure to restore the Proposal ID for the scheduled observer after the ToO observations have been completed.

      (3)The observer must include in their night report when a ToO observation is requested, and the amount of time the observer dedicates to the ToO.

Data Distribution

     The current protocol for ToO data distribution can be found at Target of Opportunity data files.

The following table lists those persons authorized to initiate a ToO observation:

• ToO interrupts should be issued only for observations that are time critical. Non-time-critical followup observations should be pursued through other means.
• ToO PIs may not specify observing conditions under which the ToO observations are made; either the ToO observations are triggered or they are not. If a called ToO is clouded out then the time is charged, just as if the observations were made. The same is true of instrument/telescope failures.
• ToO observations are authorized only for NOAO assigned telescope time. Observing runs assigned by the Chilean TAC may only be interrupted upon the consent of the scheduled observer.